


There's Something About Morty

by ZwiebelSpice



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Aliens, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mostly Cannon Compliant, Multiverse, OC, Original Character(s), Original Male Character - Freeform, Poly, Romance, Slow Burn, Space Adventure, Taboo, The Flesh Curtains, Time Travel, Young Rick, flesh curtains rick - Freeform, young beth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:48:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29794929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZwiebelSpice/pseuds/ZwiebelSpice
Summary: Taking Place after the events of season 4 Morty is left with what he thought was going to be a more normal life. He’d never have guessed that the weirdest adventure he’d ever go on would start after making friends with the new kid.Not sure how to sell an oc insert fic, but hey, this is a slow burn fluffy passion project and I just gotta get it out of my head. This is planned to be the first part in an extended series.
Relationships: Beth/Space Beth, Morty Smith/Original Male Character(s), Rick Sanchez (Rick and Morty)/Original Male Character(s), Rick Sanchez/Morty Smith, Rick/Morty/Original male character(s), Rick/original male character
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place after the events of season 4, and i'm trying to keep it as cannon complaint as possible so there may be spoilers if you're not currently caught up to that point. That being said it's a slow burn OC fic so I'm obviously taking some liberties here.
> 
> Chapter updates will be Mondays and Thursdays.

God he missed Rick. He missed traveling in space and going to other dimensions. He missed the way they used to joke around together even if his grandpa tended to push things too far. Morty would never say it out loud but he even kinda missed the constant looming threat of death that always seemed to follow them even on the simplest adventures.

Morty would take anything over this. He had always thought he wanted a simpler life. Going to school, dating girls, and maybe joining a club or two. When his mom came back from space he got his wish, or what he thought was his wish. 

Beth and her space counterpart had decided to finally get her- or their shit together. They had decided to co-parent Morty and his sister. Having someone who truly understood her and could back her up had really changed his mother. She seemed happier. Both Beths had decided it was time for some major changes. Jerry was officially out of the home again. Morty only saw his dad on the occasional court-appointed weekend visit, or when Jerry would get drunk and show up on the family's lawn begging for Beth to take him back. The version of his mother that Morty and Summer had started referring to as space mom even helped their other mother stand up to their father. That’s when his life seemed to flip right side up. 

Morty wasn’t allowed to go on any adventures with his grandpa that weren’t pre-approved by both Beths. The last few months he’d only missed one day of school, and that was when he had randomly caught a cold. His grades had gone up. Morty still wasn’t a straight-A student, but he was finally passing. He was even getting decent sleep. Not being woke up randomly dragged across the galaxy had done wonders for his sleep schedule. 

So why was he still so tired? Even with the painful bumping of his head against the bus window, Morty couldn’t will himself to move his body any more than absolutely necessary. Maybe he was depressed, maybe he was just bored. 

Morty was torn from his thoughts as he was jerked forward in his seat. The bus came to an abrupt halt. The sound of squealing tires was quickly replaced by the sounds of his classmates trying to figure out what happened. 

“What the hell Mr. Porksword? This ain’t our stop.” Morty didn’t recognize the voice and couldn’t see who asked the question as students began to push their way to the windows to see what was happening. 

“ Oh fuck! I think he hit someone!”

“I don’t see anyone, are they okay?” 

Morty could see the panic on Mr. Porksword’s face reflected in the giant mirror at the front of the bus. He had just been hired on as a bus driver early this year and this probably wouldn’t look good on his driving record. When the initial shock finally wore off he yelled at the students to get back into their seats even though one seemed to want to listen. It was only when there was a loud knock at the door of the bus that the chaos fell silent. 

“Hello? Is everybody okay in there?” A high-pitched voice could barely be heard outside the bus. 

Mr. Porksword hesitated before opening the bus door and stepping outside. The students had mostly quieted down as they tried to listen in to the conversation. Now this had Morty’s interest. He unlocked his window and peeked outside, but was only able to get a small glimpse of red hair before the driver had made his way back inside. Mr.Porksword ushered everyone to sit back down so they could be back on their way. 

The rest of the ride was filled with whispers, Morty only catching bits of the conversation here and there. 

“Who was that?”

“I heard someone say they saw him go flying across the pavement when the bus hit him.”

“What was he even doing in the middle of traffic like that? And then Mr.Allen just let him walk off?” 

Morty let out a sigh. Maybe today wouldn’t be so boring after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Word of the incident had spread pretty fast, any type of news or gossip always did at this school. By the time Morty had sat down for his first class, he’d already heard what felt like hundreds of rumors. The wildest is that the bus driver had hit a group of homeless people while in a drunken rage and that when the police had come to take him into custody someone had seen him try and run away only to get tased. 

Obviously, Morty didn’t believe a word of it, but he had to admit that it definitely made the morning a lot more exciting. He couldn’t help all of the weird theories forming in his head about what had actually happened. He leaned his head against the palm of his hand, drifting off into thought as Mr. Goldenfold started class. 

Morty barely registered when halfway through the period there was a knock at the door. “Ughhh, is this room 201? This is like a math class right?” There was that high pitched voice again. 

“Why yes, it is. You must be Rae. Principal Vagina said that you might be late.” Goldenfold ushered a tall lanky red-headed boy into the classroom. “We’ve already started our lesson for the day, so why don’t you take that empty seat for now, and then I’ll get you all caught up after class.” 

The boy nodded, “Sounds like a plan, Chief”. He turned on his heels, his dark blue eyes instantly locking with Morty’s as he made his way across the room. Fuck, why couldn’t he seem to look away? Morty watched wide-eyed as the boy flopped down in the desk next to him. “Hi, I’m Rae.” His voice was hushed, as Mr. Goldenfold had already dove back into their lesson. 

“D-did, were you, I mean were you the one that got hit by the bus this morning?” Morty tried to focus his attention on the notebook on his desk. His brain seemed to go as blank as the page, the only sound being a deep anxious buzzing humming through his skull. Something just didn’t feel right. 

“Oh yeah, that was me.” Rae chuckled, “Sometimes I get lost in thought and I’m not used to this sort of traffic.” 

Morty’s curiosity got the better of him, “I thou- I thought-I heard you got hit- pretty bad. So you’re- you’re like okay then?” 

“Well, yeah? How much damage could an earth car really do?” 

His head jerked up, a look of alarm quickly worked its way onto Morty’s face as he looked the boy up and down. He wore a short black sleeveless vest overtop of a white t-shirt and dark denim jeans. It wasn’t the craziest outfit he’d ever seen, but it definitely wasn’t the typical style for kids their age. “Earth cars?” The question left his lips before he even realized what he was saying. “S-s-so are you, are you like an alien or something then?”

Rae turned his head slightly, giving Morty a puzzled look before looking back up to the board. “I mean I guess? I don’t have a visa if that’s what you're asking.” He let out an annoyed huff. 

“N-no like space, are you like a space alien?” Morty mumbled. 

“Technically? I mean I’m from space, but _alien_ is a pretty broad outdated term don’t you think?” Rae turned to Morty, their eyes meeting briefly. “I’m human if that’s what you're worried about.” 

Some of the tension that had begun to build in Mortys shoulders released. “So then you’re not here to- to like, I don’t know hurt people or anything right?” 

As Rae was about to answer Mr. Goldenfold interrupted their conversation, chastising Morty that he should know the class rules by now and that the two of them needed to pay attention. He droned on for another minute before finally getting back to the lecture. 

Morty didn’t get another chance to ask his question again before the bell had rung. Students began leaving for their next classes. By the time Morty had packed up his things and spotted Rae he was already standing at Mr. Goldenfold’s desk. He wanted to wait for the boy, but his next class was all the way across the building. Leaving unanswered made Morty’s stomach tie in knots, but he didn’t feel like he was in any immediate danger. He made his way out of the classroom, hoping that maybe he’d be in his next class or run into him in the hall. 

His anxiety only got worse as the day went on. Rae hadn’t been in either of his next classes, which gave his mind plenty of time to dwell on things. Mortys heart skipped a beat as he walked into the lunchroom and spotted him sitting alone. He quickly grabbed his food and made his way to sit across from the new boy. He tried to push down his nerves. “Hey, can I- Is it okay if I sit here?” 

Rae looked up from his tray. “ You’re already sitting down, so yeah.” He was picking at his food in disgust. “Is this really what they serve here? How does this even qualify as nutrition?”

“I-I know right? It’s still- you can still see the shape of the can. It looks like they just, they just plopped it into the tray.” Morty felt embarrassed as he tried to make conversation. “So, I was wondering, I mean- you never got a chance to answer the question and-” 

“No, I’m not here to take over Earth. No, I'm not going to hurt anyone.” Rae seemed outright annoyed at this point. “It’s kind of rude don’t you think? To just assume that I’m some bad guy?” He paused to take a deep breath and collect his thoughts. “Sorry, it's just been a rough morning. I don't mean to take it out on you.”

“N-no, I get it, I didn’t- I shouldn't have started interrogating you like that.” Morty let out a nervous laugh. “ I’m just not used to- well usually when things involve space there’s some kind of catch.” Morty played with his food, he knew he sounded like an idiot. He probably looked like a fool. 

Rae gave him a soft smile. “It’s okay, I get it.” 

Morty felt his shoulders relax a bit. The two sat in silence as they picked at their trays. He still couldn't say he completely trusted the other boy, and the whole situation had him sketched out. Things had just been calm for so long, it was like he was waiting for shit to hit the fan. After years of misadventures with his grandpa, he figured that it made sense to be wary. 

“I don't know what I was expecting, but I don't think it was this.” Rae’s voice pulled Morty from his thoughts. He was playing with his fork, bedding the tines back and forth. “Like, this is going to sound stupid, but this is my first time here on earth, and I've never really done school like this.” He chuckled, adjusting in his seat so he was sitting cross-legged. Rae looked up meeting Morty's eyes, “ Is it always this fucking boring?”

There was a lot to unpack there. “Oh yeah, yeah- it’s awful,” Morty decided instead to keep the conversation light. “This-you, you getting hit by a bus is probably the most exciting thing that's happened all year.” 

“No shit?” Rae paused seeming to read Morty's face. He pushed his tray away. “I grew up traveling in space with my uncle and brother, but I kinda wanted to have a normal ‘human’ experience. School, friends, all of that, ya know? Like I don't mind being drug across the galaxy and fighting aliens, and I don't feel like I'm missing out or anything but maybe I am?” He fiddled with the fork nervously in his lap. 

“No! I get it. I mean I think- I get where you're coming from.” Morty straightened in his seat. “My grandpa Rick and I- well we used to go on adventures. I get- I thought I wanted a normal, a ‘human’ experience too. It’s- it’s an adjustment for sure.”

Rae perked up. “How am I supposed to just sit there and listen to the teachers drone on? Like I was in chemistry- What's her name? The teacher?”

“Mrs. Markleson?” Morty added.

“ Yeah, Mrs. Markleson, why does she sound like a radiator?” Rae rolled his eyes. “She just drones on and on. Then she asks a question and everyone is just sitting there quite like they have no clue.”

“People- the students at this school aren’t the brightest. My grandpa Rick says school isn’t for smart people.” Morty hesitated. “I think- I mean I’d assume you’d learn more traveling the galaxy, ya know? You learn more from life experience than you do from books- from someone lecturing you right?”

“Well, yeah… I didn’t expect to learn much, at least not from an academic standpoint.” A blush crept onto Rae’s face, his ears turning pink with embarrassment as he continued. “I really wanted to come to earth to make friends… Like other kids, ones my own age, and my own species for that matter. I’ve just never really had the chance. I've never really had-.” He cut himself off and looked away awkwardly. 

“Aww jeez…” Morty knew that feeling. He’d never really had many friends growing up. Even before his adventures started he had always found it hard to connect to others. Morty would say the only real companionship that he’d ever had was probably with Rick, but that was always on his grandpa’s terms. He wasn’t sure if it even counted since they were family. “Well, it’s only the first day. So you have- there's plenty of time, right?”

The bell chimed. The students at surrounding tables began dumping their trays and getting ready to head back to class. Rae seemed a bit startled at the commotion. “I guess you’re probably right..” He picked up his barely touched lunch and the two made their way over to the trash. Before they parted ways he turned to the other boy. “I introduced myself, but I don’t remember catching your name.” 

“Oh! Um, It’s I’m Morty.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So, is Morty a common name?” Rae popped his head around Morty's locker.

“ W-What?” Morty was startled. It was the next morning, and he was grabbing his books for his first class. They had had a few more classes together in the afternoon but hadn’t had a chance to talk more. “I- I don't think so? It’s short for Mortimer, but I go by- I’ve always gone by Morty...My dad picked- I think my dad picked it out? From one of his weird romance novels. He’s always been a bit of a sap, and I think- the name just kinda stuck ya know?” He closed his locker, looking up at the redhead confused. 

“Sounds pretty cheesy.” Rae let out a laugh but backpedaled a bit when he saw Morty’s face. “ It’s not a bad name, just unusual.” The two started to head to Mr. Goldenfolds Classroom. “Rae is short for Braeburn. Like the apple. Uncle Mak says they were my mom's favorite. She really missed them and so she decided to name me after them. So I get weird names.”

Morty sat down in his seat, Rae taking the one next to him, the same as yesterday. He busied himself getting out his book and note. “So, um… you’re family is- like you guys just lived in space?” He had been thinking about it all night after he got home. Humans hadn’t been able to freely travel into space until after the Federation's brief take over, and since his grandpa’s takedown of the organization that had slowed down as well. 

“For as long as I can remember.” Rae reached into his bag setting up his books and then pulling out a small pile of wires. He set them up so they were hidden from view from the front of the classroom. “Gotta keep my hands busy or I might go crazy.” he winked at Morty before continuing. “I think my brother remembers living on earth when he was little, but my uncle took us in pretty soon after I was born. And according to him traveling back and forth is too much of a hassle and a waste of portal fluid. He has no problem with wasting it on popping into bars clear across the galaxy, but Earth is too far?”

“Rick- My grandpa Rick pulls shit like that all the time.” Mr. Goldenfold walked into the classroom and Morty lowered his voice as the day's lesson began. “If it's something he wants- if it’s to benefit him then like- there's no problem right? B-but if it’s something- if I ask it’s suddenly, it becomes the biggest inconvenience.” 

“Fuck do I feel that.” Rae sighed. 

The two quieted down as they listened to Mr. Goldenfold drone on. Morty found himself watching the other boy fiddle around with the wires. It didn't seem like he was making anything in particular, instead, he just kept twisting and untwisting various pieces. Still, Morty had to admit it was more interesting than the multiplication up on the board. That and he couldn't help but chuckle at the way Rae would throw his head back and send him a pleading look anytime Mr. Goldenfold tried to dumb down the lesson for the rest of the class. 

The rest of the morning passed by uneventfully. The two parted ways to head to their other classes but met up again at lunch. This time Morty had arrived first, settling in alone at his usual spot by the backdoor. He claimed the spot the year before when Rick was constantly portaling in to take him on adventures. It was easier to make less of a scene than being in the middle of the lunchroom. Despite his efforts to stay under the radar the other students had still labeled him as a weirdo and tried to avoid him at all costs.

After ten minutes had passed and Morty was still sitting by himself he was curious if Rae had decided to sit with someone else. They hadn’t agreed to sit together. He wasn’t sure why he automatically assumed that the other would sit with him. Morty was about to chastise himself when a lunch tray was thrown down in front of him. The familiar lanky redheaded frame flopping down into the seat. 

“I just need to pack a lunch.” Rae huffed, picking up his fork he shoved it into the soggy bun that held an anemic-looking hot-dog. “What even is this? Is it supposed to be meat or something?”

“It’s a- I mean have you never- have you never seen a hot-dog before?” Morty gave him an incredulous look. “They have- I've been to space they have hot-dogs.” 

Rae furrowed his brow. “I mean yeah, at like the space stations sure, but would you trust eating one?”

“Well- well no p-probably not.” 

“I don't know about you but I've had food poisoning one too many times to trust eating this.” Rae waved the speared weiner around, the bun falling apart and landing on the table. “What animal is this even supposed to be from?”

Morty picked at his own lunch. “ A pig- I think it’s supposed to come from a pig, but it’s- it’s the bits- the parts that they can't normally sell? Like they smoosh all the extra parts together.” It was an unappetizing concept for sure, so he couldn't really blame the other boy. “ If you don't think- if you just pretend like that's not what it is, it’s- it doesn't taste too bad. Maybe try- you should get some ketchup.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that…”

The rest of the week continued in a similar fashion. They would run into each other between classes and chat, and lunch together seemed to transition into Morty’s new norm. There were times when he wanted to ask Rae to explain something odd he said, but he felt like the boy would get around to explaining when he felt like it. He honestly couldn't complain too much. Rae didn't seem to question him either, even when he went on at length about the weird things his grandpa and he got up to. 

Food seemed to be an easy topic for them. It never branched into an awkward silence where neither of them was sure if they should push a subject or not. It was on the third day of Rae only packing crackers for lunch that Morty decided to call out the boy on his eating habits.   
“Are you- is that all you’re eating?” Morty asked, only to get a confused look from the other boy. “You-you're just having crackers again? That’s not- I mean, I can't imagine it's very filling.” He hoped he came off as non-judgmental, but the color rising in Rae’s face said otherwise. 

“It’s the only thing that I’ve found that I like that we can get here.” Rae fidgeted in his seat. He stared down at his hands as they broke the crackers into tiny bits leaving crumbs across the table. “I went to the store the other day, but I wasn't sure what to get. I’ve never really cooked before. I don't know what ingredients go together, or even how to prepare them...” 

He seemed obviously overwhelmed, even if he was just recounting the memory. Morty couldn't help but feel bad for him. “Aww jeez… H-hey, It’s okay. I didn’t- It’s not a bad thing, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was just concerned because, because crackers aren’t- they aren’t really a meal.” 

“No, I know. It’s just my family is a bunch of dicks. My brother is always ordering food but it just smells so gross.” Rae took a bite of cracker nervously. “And my uncle is basically using anything he can as a punishment since I pushed him to let me come to earth. He said if I want a normal human experience that means all of the tedious bullshit too. And apparently cooking is one of those things that I’m expected to just-” He let out a frustrated groan. 

“M-maybe I can help?” Morty asked. 

Rae gave him a skeptical look. “How?”

“W-well, I can- I mean I’m not a chef or anything, but I know how to make some basic dishes.” Morty sat forward in his seat. “I could help you- we could pick up a few things for a few meals. That or- there’s pre-made stuff, you know like frozen. Things that just need- you just pop them into the microwave? Maybe that would work? I might- we could try and find things that you might like?”

Silence fell between the two, after a long pause Rae finally spoke up. “ You wouldn’t mind? It’s not asking too much is it?” 

“O-of course not! W-what else are friends for?” Morty felt silly when he heard the word slip from his lips. They hardly knew each other and had only been talking here and there in passing. 'Friend' seemed like a strong word, but other than family this was probably the closest thing to friendship Morty had experienced. 

The tension and anxiety building in his stomach eased when he saw the small smile on Rae’s face.


	4. Chapter 4

Rae couldn’t help the anxiety building up in his body. He could feel the adrenaline running through his arms, and the knots forming in his stomach. For the life of him, he couldn’t sit still in his seat, his head was on a constant swivel watching as the other cars and houses passed by outside his window. Wicker was behind the wheel already annoyed at having to drive his little brother around and the constant fidgeting was only exasperating it. 

“Will you just sit the fuck down?” Wicker tapped the breaks throwing Rae off balance and causing him to hit into the dash. 

“Jeez! Okay, Okay I'm sitting.” Rae sat back in his seat. He focused his attention on his seatbelt, his fingers played with the straps trying to get them to sit evenly across his lap. He knew it was probably still obnoxious but he needed something to keep his brain busy. “I think it’s the next right turn, then a few blocks down. It’s a tan house, Morty said he’d be waiting outside.”

Wicker took the corner. “If you keep acting like this you're gonna run him off. No one wants to be friends with a spaz.” 

No one wants to be friends with a spaz, the words stuck in Rae’s head as he turned to look out the window. Wicker was probably right. He took a deep calming breath. This was his first time ever being invited out by someone. Sure it was just to the grocery store, but it was a start, right? Maybe if it went well they could hang out more. Maybe Rae would actually make his first friend.

“Oh! There he is!” Rae sat up in his seat as he spotted Morty's distinct yellow shirt. The other boy stood in his driveway, his back was to the street as he animatedly yelled at someone in the garage. Rae rolled down his window as they pulled up to the curb catching the end of the conversation. 

“Y-you can just do it yourself R-rick! It’s, It’s not like you actually n-need my help!” Morty yelled, drawing Rae’s attention to an older man sitting at a workbench. He looked over his shoulder to the car. “B-besides, I already have plans.” 

“ Al-already *urp* have plans?” The older man stood on shaky legs as if to get a better view. “Since when do you have plans that don’t involve doing- doing shit for me or touching your fucking dick?”

If he hadn’t heard his name Rae would have easily guessed that must be Rick. Based on what he had heard, Morty's grandpa was some sort of super-genius scientist who wasn’t a complete asshole when he wasn’t fucked up on who knows what substance. It was something that Rae understood all too well. 

Morty turned on his heels, flipping the older man the bird as he stomped to the car. He slammed the door a bit too hard as he got in, earning an annoyed huff from Wicker. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean- He’s just an idiot and-” 

“Nah, it’s fine,” Rae interjected. He caught a glimpse of the boy's face in the rearview mirror. Rae was unsure if his flushed cheeks were from anger or embarrassment, probably both. “Family can be frustrating.”

“Family can be frustrating.” Wicker mocked as he began to drive. “Says the one who can’t drive and has been bitching for a ride.”

Rae turned around in his seat, his arms slung around the headrest as he faced Morty. “This is Wicker. My dick of an older brother who likes to act like any minor inconvenience is the end of the universe.” 

“And this is Rae, the parasite that can’t go anywhere by himself.” Wicker rolled his eyes.

The two went back and forth their voices progressively getting higher as they took jabs at each other. Rae couldn’t help but smile as Morty tried to stifle a laugh. This was going to be a good afternoon. 

It hadn’t taken long before they pulled up outside the grocery store. It was the closest between the two boy’s houses and also happened to have the largest selection in town. Morty had raved about their bakery and fresh produce sections, which both seemed like pretty safe places to start when trying new things. “You’re still cool picking us up later, right?” Rae asked as he and Morty stepped out of the car. 

“Yeah, just message me. Try not to take forever.” Wicker grumbled before pulling away. 

“Old- older siblings am-am I right?” Morty let out a laugh as he led Rae into the store. 

The sliding doors opened before them leading them into a fluorescently lit hellscape. There was something about the blatant product placement and obnoxious signs advertising the hottest deals that felt oddly familiar yet still so foreign at the same time. Rae was thankful that it was still fairly early so there weren’t too many other customers. He snapped out of his trance as Morty pulled up a cart beside him. “ So where do we start?”

Morty began to lead the way. “Fruit, Fruit, and Veggies. Do you like apples?” He pushed down the urge to cringe remembering the dumb ad campaign his dad tried to start. “ Or grape? Those are, they’re fairly cheap and keep well. You can, you just grab them and eat them, they don’t need to be cooked. Do you like sweet stuff?” 

“Yeah, I like sweets.” They pulled the cart off to the side. Rae picked up one of the round red fruits, inspecting it before turning to Morty. “Are all of these just different types of apples?”

“Y-yeah. They’re all, they taste slightly different. The red ones tend to be sweeter, and those-” Morty picked up a green apple. “These ones, they’re a bit more tart. Some are better if your- if you cook or bake with them, but all of them are good to just eat plain.”

Rae gave a nod. He picked up one that had a mottled pink and yellow skin. “What about this one?”

“Um…” Morty looked at the sign where Rae had picked it up. “That one is- it’s a hybrid. It’s supposed to taste like cotton candy?” He took a closer look. “ F-fuck. I haven’t, I’ve never tried it before, but it’s also $12 a pound. Which, it’s pretty expensive.” Morty looked up at the red-head. “Do you have- What’s your budget?”

“Budget?” The words didn’t register at first, but then the lightbulb clicked on. “When I asked my uncle Mak gave me like $3000, is that going to be enough to get much?” 

Morty blinked up at him. “$3000? For just Groceries? Like- Like just this one trip?”

“Well… Yeah?”

“Y-yeah, That’ll be enough.” Morty slipped two of the ridiculously overpriced apples into the cart. “You’ll be able to get plenty of stuff to try- to try and see if you like.” 

Making their way through the stands, Rae let Morty lead the way and tried to absorb everything as Morty described the different tastes and uses. After a small scare with the vegetable mister, they entered the baked goods section. Rae almost lost track of the brown-haired boy when he made a b-line for the pastry case. A grin crept onto his face when he spotted Morty standing on his tip-toes trying to look through the glass doors and onto the higher shelves.

“I wonder if they- they make the best strawberry turnovers here. Oh! There!” Morty bent over spotting them on a lower shelf. He grabbed a set of tongs, opened the case, and put a few of the little triangular pastries in a box. “They have- they're filled with strawberries and cream cheese. The crust it’s like- its buttery and flaky and it just melts in your mouth. When we were, when we went on a lot of road trips to see my grandparents, not Rick, but- the ones on my dad’s side of the family. Before we leave my mom, she’d- she always brought me and Summer in to get doughnuts. These have always been- they’re my favorite.” 

Morty stopped as he realized he was rambling, a bright pink dusted his cheeks from the embarrassment of oversharing. 

“I’ve never had cream cheese or strawberries, but I’m pretty excited to try them.” Rae grinned from ear to ear. He took the tongs from Morty and placed a few more into the box. “Is there anything else I should try? What else would you recommend?”


	5. Chapter 5

Morty rolled over in his bed and kicked his blanket off letting it fall to the floor. His room felt too hot. It could have been due to the rising heat of early summer, but Morty would put his money that it was the result of his rising temper. Ever since he had walked in the door after school it seemed to be one thing after another. 

Starting with Summer screaming at him and blaming him for something of hers goes missing. The resulting fight had woken up Rick who had been passed out on the couch. His grandpa quickly stepped in to berate the both of them. His mother had tried to break the resulting tension over family dinner but ended up in another lecture about his failing grade in chemistry. When the family sat down to watch tv he made up an excuse about doing homework and getting to bed early before heading up to his room. That was hours ago and Morty had yet to do any work or sleep. 

Sighing heavily he reached out and grabbed his cellphone from the nightstand. Morty squinted, eyes blinking as he tried to adjust to the sudden brightness from the screen. He wasn’t surprised that the time read well past 2 am, however, the notification that Rae had texted him was. 

Rae: Hey, are you up? Can we video chat?

The timestamp said it was sent seven minutes ago. Morty knew he wasn’t getting to sleep anytime soon, so he sent a message back. 

Morty: Yeah I’m up. Go ahead and call. 

Almost instantly after the delivered icon appeared the call notification popped up. He slid it open and was greeted with a shaky camera. Morty could vaguely make out cupboards in the brightly lit room before the screen settled on Rae’s face. 

“Hey, I hope I’m not waking you.” 

“No, you’re fine, It’s all- I haven't fallen asleep yet.”

“Okay, Okay um…” Rae let out an awkward laugh, “So, you know the other day when you gave me that recipe for the spaghetti? And you said that it was really simple?” He was having trouble getting the words out through his giggles. 

Morty sat up in his bed, leaning against the wall for support. “Yeah?”

“I think- I think I messed it up.” Rae flipped the camera around to show a pot boiling on the stove. He gave it a stir causing chunks of tomatoes and noodles to come to the surface. “Is it supposed to look like this? The pictures online don’t look like this.”

Morty couldn’t help the laugh that erupted from him. “Oh- Oh jeez. No! Did you- you’re supposed to-” he paused trying to catch his breath. “You’re supposed to drain the noodles before you add the sauce. Don’t you have a colander?”

“Colander?” There was a long pause as Rae thought. “ Oh yeah! Hold on.” He set his phone down. Morty could hear banging, presumably as the boy looked for the device. “ I’m sure there’s one here somewhere. I can still fix this right?” 

“I mean- you can still drain it, but the sauce is- do you have any sauce left or did you just, did you pour it all in?” 

“Um… I poured it all in? But I think I have another.”

Morty helped walk Rae through fixing the disaster. How to properly drain the pasta, and how to doctor up and add the sauce. Ten minutes later Rae was sitting down at the table, finally ready for his first bite. “It smells a bit weird, but I’m hoping after all of this it at least tastes okay.” He swirled some of the noodles around his fork.

“Even your- you have such a baby pallet.” Morty teased. “If toddlers can handle it, you- you should be able to eat it.”

“You’d think. If not I’m gonna throw a fit and lay on the floor crying about how yucky it is.” Rae blew on the bite, giving it one last hesitant look before popping it into his mouth. 

“Well?” Morty asked, trying to decipher the other boy's face. 

“It’s…”

“It’s what?”

“The noodles are good, but why is the sauce so sweet?” Rae pushed the food around on his plate isolating some of the pasta. Picking up a plain peace with his fingers to try. “ Yeah, the noodles themselves are fine.” 

“How- How can you not like pasta sauce?” Morty was flabbergasted. “I mean, y-you, you’ve lived in space your whole life, I’m sure- you’ve had to have eaten a lot of weirder, a lot more unusual things than this.”

The red-head went quiet. The awkward silence hanging over them as he tried to find words. “I guess I’ve just always been a picky eater. My family’s never really made me eat things I don’t like, and I’ve always had a few go-to safe foods, but we can’t get them here…Well, I could but it’s a hassle. Part of me coming here is to learn what normal human life is like. Like I had to beg my uncle Maks to let me come here, and now he’s using everything he can against me. I wanted to come to earth, so now I have to go to school, and I have to learn to cook, and I have a curfew. There’s chores and cleaning and-” Rae huffed, sitting back in his seat. 

Morty stopped him. “H-hey hey hey. I-I-I get it, man. My mom- my moms” he corrected. “They- they’ve been riding my ass pretty hard lately. I’ve never been, I’m not good at school. I’ve never been very smart, but for some reason grades are, it feels like that’s all they care about. My sister- Summer she’s- she’s pretty smart. B-but they don’t care if she’s a fuck up. S-she can cut class all she wants, but if- if I so much as, if I fail an assignment it becomes the end of the world.”

“My brother’s an idiot.” Rae sat back in his seat and pushed his plate away. “He’s not a bag guy, just not very bright. I don’t want to say my uncle gave up on him, but he’s never pushed him like he does with me. And I get that it’s because he knows I can figure it out or whatever. I can do school, and I can learn to cook even if it’s just some dumb punishment. I get that he expects more from me, it’s just frustrating to be thrown into it all at once… Maybe that’s how your moms feel?”

“Yeah, maybe…” Something about the idea didn’t quite feel right to Morty. For years his mother didn’t seem to care about his actual upbringing. Sure she always put on a show about his grandpa taking him out of school and the dangerous adventures they went on, but she hadn’t ever followed through with any of it. 

“ Maybe it’s something else?” Rae asked. 

Even if with the barrier of a screen between them Morty couldn’t bring himself to look at Rae’s face. “I think- I think she’s trying to compensate for something, or-or she’s going on some sort of power trip… It’s like she finally realized Rick- my grandpa Rick is an asshole and shouldn’t- that she shouldn’t idolize him... I think she’s mad at me…” 

When Morty risked a glance at the screen Rae had a confused look. “Why would she be mad at you?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that, or more accurately he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. Morty wasn’t used to talking so intimately about his feelings with anyone, let alone someone that he’d only known for a few weeks. That’s what friends were for though, right? Rae didn’t seem like the type to be run off by all the weird shit that was Morty’s life. Honestly out of everyone Morty knew he was one of the few people who might understand where he was coming from. 

Taking a deep breath Morty finally mustered the guts to answer. “I’ve just been telling her that Rick- he’s a pretty shitty guy, and I-I’ve been telling her since he came back into our lives. But- but it’s like she’s, she’s just now seeing that. That- just because he’s an asshole, it doesn’t mean we can’t- that I can’t care about him. I think- It just feels like she’s mad that I’m closer to him, that I’m closer to him than her. Not- it’s not that she wants to be close with me, but-but that she’s mad at, she’s mad at him and since I still like him, now- T-that’s my fault and now she’s mad at me.” It felt like he was rambling. He wasn’t sure if any of what he just said made any sense. 

“That sounds really rough… Like you’ve got a lot on your plate.” The two sat quietly for a minute, neither quite sure what to say. 

Morty let out a strained laugh. “Sorry, I didn’t- I made things awkward-”

“No, it’s not that.” Rae cut him off. “It’s just I don’t know if I can give much advice on families and stuff… I’ve never- I’ve never really had to deal with a lot of that myself… I can’t say whether or not your moms actually mad at you, but you can’t help how you feel, you know? And like if hanging out with your grandpa makes you happy, you should do that. What's the worst that could happen? She’s already mad right? I don’t know, maybe it’s more complicated than that…”  
Rae fidgeted in his chair giving Morty a moment to think it over before he continued. ”I think my point is you’re your own person and she won't always be your boss. You won't always be under her rules, and it’s annoying, but it’s not forever right?”

“No, y-you’re right… It’s just- there’s so much- I miss my and Rick's adventures but he’s- he’s been a dick too, and I’m tired of school. Of the same- it’s the same boring routine, day after day after day.” Morty let himself slump over in his bed. He still wasn’t tired but his brain felt exhausted. 

“Would it be weird if we went on an adventure?” Rae asked in an obviously nervous tone as he hunched over in his seat. “I know It probably wouldn’t be the same, but maybe some time off earth might help?”


End file.
